Good Day for a Swell Battle!

[Puddle~]

@Estelle

Berrypaw could feel the end drawing near as she managed to ram into Gingerpaw, hoping to knock him over and maybe pin him down. But... he didn't fall over, which, she probably should have expected due to his slightly larger size, but it was still quite disappointing nevertheless. So... maybe this wasn't then end yet, but they needed to wrap up this final stretch pretty soon. It felt like the fight had been going on for a relatively prolonged amount of time. And while she didn't mind getting to fight, she knew Lionstar probably had other things to do than watch the last two apprentices duke it out for the entire day. But that was besides the point, and she needed to refocus on the battle before. Shoot. Her mind had wandered off a little too far, and she'd completely neglected paying attention to what was going on with Gingerpaw. When he jumped at her at first, she managed to duck and avoid the hit, but the second time was what did her in. She had turned to attack, not expecting Gingerpaw to be using the same move immediately after she'd dodged the first attempt. Knocked over by the impact of the hit, she quickly found herself nearly pinned under Gingerpaw's weight with a paw against her throat, and began thinking of ways to slip out before her mind came up with something else. She had gone into this final round yearning to come out on top... but what if... maybe losing was actually the better option in this scenario? If she lost against another apprentice with less training... then perhaps it could possibly make her seem less suspicious? She knew there were already at least a small pawful of cats who were beginning to question her fighting experience a bit. But... perhaps losing with Gingerpaw could make her seem less like a vicious Dark Forest trainee, which in turn might be able to alleviate some of those building suspicions and buy her back a little more comfort? Yeah. She supposed that losing here would have its benefits.

So, pretending to put up a bit more of a fight, Berrypaw allowed herself to stay pinned down for five more heartbeats, before letting herself stop struggling. She needed to appear like she hadn't lost on purpose here, so she let out a low, sour growl. "Darn it! Lionstar, we have a winner!"

@BILL.

[BEAR.]

RiverClan Announcement [#liontalks]

This was.. a lot more of an extensive fight than Lionstar had been anticipating. The other spars felt insignificant compared to the battle these two raged against each other, and when Berrypaw finally conceded.

Lionstar wasn't blind. He could see the way she froze beneath him in thought but by this point, he didn't care. The crowd was gone and in it's place remained the three. "Congratulations Gingerpaw!" Lionstar moved to throw his tail across the young tom's back warmly. "You've beaten your way to the top of the apprentice food pile! How does that feel?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Of course, the best award above all is bragging rights for defeating dear old Berrypaw here but, I think it'd be pretty lame if I had you do all this work only for that.

"This will count as extra training credit for both of you.. I don't think I've seen a more determined and fierce pair of cats! Alongside this, Gingerpaw, I am giving you first pick of the fresh-kill pile for the next few nights and your nest can be relocated toward the center of the den so it's warmer." That was generally the "desired area" as it was less exposed to elements and drafts. "Oh-- and you get to take the next couple days off training and patrols, seeing as I believe this tournament has been quite taxing!"

Lionstar pulled his tail away to look at Berrypaw, mildly entertained now that the fight had concluded. "Let's head back to camp so you both can get much needed rest."

[ @Puddle~, @Estelle -- i'm ending it here on my end but you both are free to respond if you want ]

[Estelle]

This was... almost to easy in all honesty. He would've expected more of a fight from Berrypaw after he pinned her down, but she didn't. Why? Gingerpaw couldn't think of it right now, but he had a feeling it was intentional-- at least partly. Thouh there wasn't much time to dwell on it; before he knew it the five heartbeats were over and he heard Lionstar's call. Backing away from the molly, he gave a quick nod to Berrypaw before being surprised by a tail on his back. That was unexpected... But not disliked. In fact, he was feeling quite pleased having won these battles, even being congratulated by the leader. Why was certainly a mystery to him, but it was pleasing.
Nevertheless, the young tom didn't have much care for most of the 'prices'. Bragging rights were straight out stupid, while the middle part of the den was generally the loudest and he would be surrounded by all those mouse brains.. But he'd give it a try, might still be nice. Getting first pick of the fresh-kill pile did sound nice too, though the true golden reward in the ginger tom's eyes was simple: getting to take a couple days of training. A true blessing to him. And with that in mind, he made his way back to camp.